2023 Ryder Cup

Thought I would start a thread for discussion on this years exhibition between Europe and the USA.

Narrow European victory seems to be the most common prediction at the moment. Any decenters from that consensus on here?

It has been the case for quite a few years now but the hype around this event is such a turn off, the actual golf event is probably pretty compelling but being an extension of sky sports marketing does it no favors. Quite sad that the players and governing bodies have been caught up in this uncouth spectacle.

Whilst I think certain European players have become more threatening than before, ie Gymslip Fitzpatrick and the  dominant emergence of Hovland and Rahm I think this is going to go the way of the USA. 
They're well overdue a result away and the boring consistency of dreary spud faced machines like Scheffler could just grind the event down.

Mac I was talking to one of the pros in the shop this morning, and I raised the same point as you regarding the hype. He pointed out that the hype was not aimed at ourselves as golfers and golf watchers, but towards the person casually interested in sports. Trying to get them interested possibly to sign up to another channel to make them more money. I also hope there is a way of watching it without listening to Paul McGinley. I agree with Super on this one. I think the USA will win this one.

super_realist wrote:Whilst I think certain European players have become more threatening than before, ie Gymslip Fitzpatrick and the  dominant emergence of Hovland and Rahm I think this is going to go the way of the USA. 
They're well overdue a result away and the boring consistency of dreary spud faced machines like Scheffler could just grind the event down.

Not so sure. Should be close, I think. Lack of Johnson, Reed, DeChambeau etc due to LIV probably hurts them more than loss of the over-the-hill Westwood, Poulter and Garcia does for Europe. We'll see though; they're all pretty much at the top of the global game.

INW

And that's what I mean by it becoming a extension of Sky's marketing. And yes, McGinley is insufferable.

McLaren wrote:INW

And that's what I mean by it becoming a extension of Sky's marketing. And yes, McGinley is insufferable.

I find American commentators to be pretty intolerable. Can't pronounce any name and only state the obvious. Absolutely no insight, humour and charisma. Just incredibly dull stuff.

Quite like the look of those Foursome pairings for Europe with the exception of Lowry and Straka. I would have put Rose/Fitzpatrick in their place.

This is quite a decent start from Europe.

Europe up in all foursomes after 9 holes - albeit the last game only 1 up.

super_realist wrote:Quite like the look of those Foursome pairings for Europe with the exception of Lowry and Straka. I would have put Rose/Fitzpatrick in their place.

Lowry/Straka seem to be doing OK just now.

A 4-0 start after the foursomes, traditionally not Europe's best format I think, would be really impressive.

That 15th from Schauffele and Cantlay just sums up America's morning.

4-0 incoming. Rahm and Hovland were stupendous.

Hmm not sure about Donald's fourballs pairings - very surprised he's split Rahm/Hatton and Hovland/Aberg. Looks very much like a pre-planned set of groups to make sure everyone plays...think I'd like to see some of the momentum of the morning pairs continue.
Risky

Yeah, think it was pre-planned, but I still like the look of three matchups for Europe in this session.

Rose and fat bob is one of weakest pairings you will see.

Great golfers like Spieth and Koepka missing when you need experience on the first morning....Ridiculous...

Not looking good....

Fitzpatrick having the front nine of his life. Rory a spectator like the rest of us.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Great golfers like Spieth and Koepka missing when you need experience on the first morning....Ridiculous...

Not looking good....

Not sure Spieth is playing well and, IMO, Koepka isn't necessarily a foursomes player; better ball, definitely.

McLaren wrote:Rose and fat bob is one of weakest pairings you will see.

Are you S_R in disguise?

navyblueshorts wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Great golfers like Spieth and Koepka missing when you need experience on the first morning....Ridiculous...

Not looking good....

Not sure Spieth is playing well and, IMO, Koepka isn't necessarily a foursomes player; better ball, definitely.

40,000 raving airheads screaming on the first morning of a big event....

I want the experience out there....Still looking like 2 1/2 v 5 1/2 at worst......So still in the game..

Clutch putt from Jon Rahm ensures the afternoon is tied 2-2. Early European domination, then America stole the momentum, but Europe squeezed out two ties on top of Fitzpatrick's earlier brilliance.

Great day of golf. Hope the Americans can come back into it tomorrow because the event is building nicely.

Oh wow, Clark and Homa fade away completely, and lose a 2up advantage in the last two holes. Rose finishing off with a clutch putt. Europe actually win the afternoon, and America haven't won a match all day.

Five point lead going into tomorrow.

Incredible putts from Hovland and Rahm on the 18th hole - stole 1 and a half points there.

What a starts for Europe. All our big names delivered.

In hindsight it was a bit of a gamble to play Homa, Burns and maybe Harman in the morning foursomes. Would have thunk the experience of Spieth and JT would have been needed for that format.

Not even a contest...

Hovland and Aberg winning 9 and 7 over Scheffler and Koepka.

3-1 Europe this morning, USA getting their first win on the board, but Europe proving too good all over the board. American putting has been very poor in this event, highlighted by Schauffele missing two he should have got in that final game.

9.5-2.5. Nothing less than 4-0 USA will suffice for this afternoon to keep the contest alive.

navyblueshorts wrote:

super_realist wrote:Whilst I think certain European players have become more threatening than before, ie Gymslip Fitzpatrick and the  dominant emergence of Hovland and Rahm I think this is going to go the way of the USA. 
They're well overdue a result away and the boring consistency of dreary spud faced machines like Scheffler could just grind the event down.

Not so sure. Should be close, I think. Lack of Johnson, Reed, DeChambeau etc due to LIV probably hurts them more than loss of the over-the-hill Westwood, Poulter and Garcia does for Europe. We'll see though; they're all pretty much at the top of the global game.

How come Koepka is playing if LIV players are banned?

Why are the americans waving their hats around like idiots?

Fair play to Cantley, clutched up to just about keep his team alive.

Good afternoon for America, but unlikely to be enough. Biggest comeback on the final day is from a four point deficit - 1999 and 2012 - so USA would be defying history to do it from five points back.

incontinentia wrote:Why are the americans waving their hats around like idiots?

Because Cantlay is not wearing a hat. European fans were waving their hats at him as a wind up, as it was thought that Cantlay was not wearing a hat as he was not being paid for the Ryder Cup. Cantlay responded by saying the cap "didn't fit". So when Cantlay was on the 18th green the rest of the USA team waved their hats as a "back at you" to the European fans.

I'm never wrong wrote:

incontinentia wrote:Why are the americans waving their hats around like idiots?

Because Cantlay is not wearing a hat. European fans were waving their hats at him as a wind up, as it was thought that Cantlay was not wearing a hat as he was not being paid for the Ryder Cup. Cantlay responded by saying the cap "didn't fit". So when Cantlay was on the 18th green the rest of the USA team waved their hats as a "back at you" to the European fans.

Do you reckon Rory could take on Joe La Cava in hand-to-hand combat?

If Rory has Shane backing him up

They only need 4 points so this might never become an issue but does anyone else think that yesterdays European 4 ball pairings were too complacent? At exactly the point they should have stepped on the Americans necks they put out 3 pairings that contained rookies while Rahm sat on the sidelines. ZJ will take some heat if this goes wrong for the USA but I actually think Donalds Saturday 4 ball pairings were one of the worst decisions I've seen from a captain.

Most useless stat of the day. "The team that drives the furthest on this hole wins it 50% of the time"

Think some of the USA team are not wearing hats in support (I guess) of Cantlay. I wonder if apologies wil be issued etc....

What a result! And a great win (2 and a half points in all) from “fat” Bob. Can’t express how disrespectful I find that comment

I'm never wrong wrote:Most useless stat of the day. "The team that drives the furthest on this hole wins it 50% of the time"

Well, you can win, tie and lose a hole. But I agree, in stead they should probably have stated the probability to lose it.

LadyPutt wrote:What a result! And a great win (2 and a half points in all) from “fat” Bob. Can’t express how disrespectful I find that comment

Chubby Bobby missed quite a few short putts over the three days so could’ve done even better. But Hojgaard was probably the biggest disappointment of the lot.

Could have done better? 2.5 points on debut and undefeated is more than acceptable I would suggest.

At one point on Saturday morning I thought the Sunday singles might have been consigned to an irrelevant exhibition with the trophy already won. The US did well Sat afternoon and did look threatening for a time Sunday. Overall best team won, and I would venture that virtually nobody would have said that would be the case after the drubbing and the nature of it 2 years ago.
How did that happen? Well there was the “a lot to f the team are unwell” on Friday…not sure I buy that. Then there was LIV which probably hurt the US more than it did Europe, yes they used Koepka but not the others. Easier for Europe as most LIV departures were past their sell by date anyway but it DID force Donald to look more at youth, whilst the others with experience really stepped up. Overall though as has happened so many times it was togetherness and mutual support over individualism and egos. That’s something that Europe can do and something that the US try as hard as they may just struggle with.

JAS wrote:At one point on Saturday morning I thought the Sunday singles might have been consigned to an irrelevant exhibition

Could have been if Luke hadn't made a mess of the Saturday 4 balls. If Europe want to win away they need to nail every session. A mistake like putting out 3 rookie pairings away will lose a RC.

incontinentia wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

super_realist wrote:Whilst I think certain European players have become more threatening than before, ie Gymslip Fitzpatrick and the  dominant emergence of Hovland and Rahm I think this is going to go the way of the USA. 
They're well overdue a result away and the boring consistency of dreary spud faced machines like Scheffler could just grind the event down.

Not so sure. Should be close, I think. Lack of Johnson, Reed, DeChambeau etc due to LIV probably hurts them more than loss of the over-the-hill Westwood, Poulter and Garcia does for Europe. We'll see though; they're all pretty much at the top of the global game.

How come Koepka is playing if LIV players are banned?

Did I suggest LIV players were banned?

BlueCoverman wrote:Could have done better? 2.5 points on debut and undefeated is more than acceptable I would suggest.

Yeah, undefeated. Not sure expectations could/should have been higher! Handed the US Open champion his arse in the singles as well.

McLaren wrote:

JAS wrote:At one point on Saturday morning I thought the Sunday singles might have been consigned to an irrelevant exhibition

Could have been if Luke hadn't made a mess of the Saturday 4 balls. If Europe want to win away they need to nail every session. A mistake like putting out 3 rookie pairings away will lose a RC.

Your opinion only. You can't possibly know what, if any, difference there would have been if Rahm and Hatton were out in those matches.

16.5 - 11.5 suggests Donald has more grounds to ignore your supposition, than you do for suggesting it's relevant.

navyblueshorts wrote:

incontinentia wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

super_realist wrote:Whilst I think certain European players have become more threatening than before, ie Gymslip Fitzpatrick and the  dominant emergence of Hovland and Rahm I think this is going to go the way of the USA. 
They're well overdue a result away and the boring consistency of dreary spud faced machines like Scheffler could just grind the event down.

Not so sure. Should be close, I think. Lack of Johnson, Reed, DeChambeau etc due to LIV probably hurts them more than loss of the over-the-hill Westwood, Poulter and Garcia does for Europe. We'll see though; they're all pretty much at the top of the global game.

How come Koepka is playing if LIV players are banned?

Did I suggest LIV players were banned?

Probably cos Koepka won a major

Navy

However big the margin was this time we know away wins don't really happen anymore. For Europe to win at bethpage they will have to play better than recent away efforts but also execute strategy perfectly. Saturday's afternoon pairings are the obvious, if not major, issue with Luke's performance.

I think Europe would need a pretty decent lead going into the singles to win at bethpage.

On another note, how tragic have the fans attending the RC become?

incontinentia wrote:Probably cos Koepka won a major

....and that Major was the PGA Championship, and the PGA of America (not the PGA Tour) have a stake in the Ryder Cup. "We want our champion in the Ryder Cup please....."

McLaren wrote:Navy

However big the margin was this time we know away wins don't really happen anymore. For Europe to win at bethpage they will have to play better than recent away efforts but also execute strategy perfectly. Saturday's afternoon pairings are the obvious, if not major, issue with Luke's performance.

I think Europe would need a pretty decent lead going into the singles to win at bethpage.

Yes they do, US might not have won in Europe since 1993 but Europe have won 3/7 times away in the same period. On paper the U.S. should spank us every time (like they used to) but they don't, Whistling Straights was an exception, a humiliating spanking yes, I think the Hazeltine score flattered them, Valhalla was a prime example of how NOT to Captain. There is NO reason why Europe should go to Bethpage bereft of any hope, of course it's possible. When was the last time the US won 3 in a row at home?

I also do wonder the US experience this time round will make them rethink their selection criteria re LIV